KaeMaki Week 2018
by ChiakiNanamemes
Summary: One: Casual Two: Coffee Shop Three: Post-Game Four: Supernatural Five: Childhood/Family Six: Talent/Talentswap Seven: Free Day - First {Posted on Ao3 first: ChiakiNanamemes}
1. Stupid Kaede

Knock knock.

Kaede knocked on the door for what seemed like the umpteenth time, when really she'd only been here a few short minutes. She was excited, okay? Her and Maki had been planning this outing for weeks, and the blonde was just rearing to go. Bouncing in place, she gave the door another knock, this time followed by a 'Maki-Chan! Open up already!' which earned a grumbled response from behind the door, causing Kaede to give a light giggle.

When the door finally opened, Kaede was a little shocked to see Maki dresses so casually. Maki was wearing a dark grey tank top with a sleeveless dark red hoodie, as well as a pair of demi shorts. Her hair was also tied back into a ponytail, rather than her signature twin-tails. Kaede couldn't help but stare, jaw dropped in utter surprise. Kaede herself was wearing just a simple white collared shirt with a light pink skirt and matching hoodie. The brunette was usually so uptight about what she wore, and rarely ever went for something like this.

"Do you have a staring problem?" Maki asked, pulling Kaede out of her trance.

"Huh? N-No I do not! It's just...I've never seen you in something like this! I didn't even think you owned clothes like this..."

Maki's cheeks went a light shade of red, "Yeah, well, it's hot outside alright?"

"It must be if you're cheeks have gone all red already..." Kaede said, a slight smirk on her lips.

This just caused Maki's blush to grow darker, before she rolled her eyes and turned to lock her door. "Stupid Kaede..." she muttered under her breath.

It wasn't long before the two of them had exited Maki's apartment block and were walking down the street. Kaede had taken the initiative and had intertwined her hand with Maki's, much to the brunette girls protest. She didn't mind holding Kaede's hand, heck she even enjoyed it, but she always felt that she might need that hand if they got ambushed and that having Kaede holding onto it would slow down her attack on any potential attackers. Still, all the brunette could do was sigh as Kaede wasn't going to let go of it anytime soon.

"Are you excited for the movie?" Kaede asked, swinging their arms slightly.

"Hm? Oh, yeah of course I am." That was a lie. Maki had no interest in the movie they were going to see. She was only going because Kaede had asked her, and because it would make Kaede happy. The movie in question was some sappy rom-com, so it really wasn't Maki's style. But for Kaede? She could make it work. At least this would allow for Maki to choose what they do on their next date. Maybe a horror movie next time? Maki sure as Hell wouldn't mind comforting Kaede whenever she got scared, something that happened quite often whenever the two would watch old horrors on Maki's crappy television.

"I'm glad you're excited, Maki-chan! I didn't think this would be your kind of thing, if I'm honest. Aren't you just full of surprises today?"

"Mhm..." Maki's attention was elsewhere at the moment, so she barely even registered what Kaede said. There were a group of boys across the road, and they seemed awfully suspicious. One, all dressed in black, kept glancing in their direction while the other, shorter and wearing almost all white, was laughing right at them. She had half a mind to go over there and smack that little punk right across his face. How dare he laugh at them!

"Um...Maki-Chan? C-Could you loosen your grip a little?" Kaede said, wincing slightly as she did so. Maki hadn't even realised she had tightened her hand on almost instinct.

"My apologies..." She muttered, taking her eyes off the boys and looking at Kaede, who offered Maki a gentle smile that said 'It's okay.'

The rest of the walk was uneventful, so the pair walked in a comfortable silence till they reached the movie theatre. Maki, being the gentlemen she was, brought both the tickets and the popcorn, much to the arguments of Kaede.

"You can just pay next time, okay? Call this a proper apology for taking so long this morning, and for almost breaking your hand."

Pouting, Kaede complied. "Fine. But I get to buy you dinner later. No arguments!"

Maki couldn't help but smile slightly at her girlfriends antics. She could be so cute sometimes that it would make Maki's heart melt.

They made their way to the screen and took their seats, which just so happened to be right on the back row. They still had a good ten minute before the movie actually started, so the pair engaged in a conversation.

"So," Maki began before putting a piece of popcorn into her mouth, "What's this movie about again?"

"Well, it's about this girl who is given these magical powers by this like...Kinda God thing? And she sets out on a quest to go and defeat this evil mastermind and along the way she meets some companions and she falls in love with one of them. At least, that what I gathered from the trailer."

"Right...So it's also a fantasy? Great." Maki's other least favourite genre, next to rom-coms.

"Shhh don't complain. You'll probably like it. People probably like, die and stuff. You like that, right?" Kaede leaned over, her mouth up against Maki's ear, "And if you don't then, let me know and I'll give you something to do while you wait~" She whispered, her tone of voice making Maki's cheeks go bright red as she wondered what Kaede was actually implying.

Chuckling softly, Kaede rested her head on Maki's shoulder, and put her left hand on Maki's exposed thigh. Maki cursed under her breath, both directed at herself for wearing so little and at Kaede for being, well, Kaede. Stupid Kaede.


	2. A Cup of Redemption

"And then he was all like 'But Momota-Kun! I'm dying! I can't go out the house!' So we just left him there." Shuuichi finished, sighing softly. He and Kaito had just met up with Maki to go to the new coffee shop that had just opened up down the street from campus. Ouma was supposed to be there too, but he had gotten out of it by being on his 'death bed.'

"I see..." Maki wasn't even surprised. She was glad Ouma wasn't coming, if she was honest. The two of them didn't get along and she had no doubts that they would probably end up arguing.

"I don't see what his problem is. He always goes ahead to make sure he's included in the plans then boom! The little shit backs out at the last minute!" Kaito exclaimed as he pressed the button for the road crossing.

"I keep telling you guys to just not invite him but you never listen."

"Oh, trust me. If we didn't invite him it would be a lot worse." Shuuichi had been through his fair share of arguments with Ouma over simple plans with friends, most of which ended with Ouma tagging along uninvited.

"I don't see why you put up with his shit..." If Maki had her way, Ouma would never be allowed to leave his own house.

Nobody said anything, after that. Mostly because they honestly didn't have a good reason as to why they put up with him. The rest of the walk went by like a breeze, the trio only engaging in small talk about the weather, or what their plans for the week were.

They soon arrived at their destination, a little coffee shop just on the corner of the street. It was still very new, as it still had its 'Grand Opening!' banner up, as well as its first week open deal: 'Buy one hot beverage and get one free! Free cookies with any order over 800¥!' That was most of the reason why the group had chosen to check the place out, one of them would get their drink for free and they'd get free cookies! What more could they want? They also came to see how Kiibo, a close friend of theirs, was getting on at his barista job.

The trio entered, and Maki was surprised to see how busy the place was. It was full of students and adults a like, and everyone seemed to be engaged in a conversation with another. Nobody seemed to be alone, and she couldn't help but smile slightly. Kaito announced that he was going to get them a booth, and assured Maki that Shuuichi knew his order like the back of his hand (It wasn't hard. He always got a black coffee but then piled mounts of sugar into it. Maki never understood why he did that.)

Maki and Shuuichi got into the surprisingly short queue, and the pair discussed their orders with one another. Shuuichi said he was just going to get a hot chocolate with whipped cream, as he was taking a break from caffeine for a bit. Maki was just going to get a black coffee. Unlike Kaito, she didn't need all that sugar to make it taste good to her.

Maki soon found herself at the front of the queue, and her deep red eyes found themselves staring straight into lilac eyes. The girl in front of her, who was tall, blonde and admittedly kinda cute, gave Maki a wide smile.

"Hi there! I'm Kaede and I'll be your server today. What can I get you? Oh, wait let me guess..."

Maki raised an eyebrow as Kaede looked her up and down, the blondes eyebrow furrowing as she did so. To her left, Maki could hear Shuuichi giving his order to Kiibo. At least one of them was getting somewhere.

"I got it! You want a black coffee, right?"

Maki had to admit she was impressed and gave a short nod, "Yes. That's right. What gave it away?"

"Well," Kaede began, "You just look like that kinda gal. Plus...I may or may not have overheard your conversation! I will neither confirm nor deny that statement!"

This earned a chuckle from Maki, "Are you this chatty with all your customers?"

"Hm...Nope! Only the ones who are cute...And the ones who look like they're gonna rob the place." Maki couldn't help but wonder which category she fell into in this situation.

Kaede picked up on of the cardboard cups, "And what might your name be?"

"...Maki."

"Gotcha!" She scribbles the name on the side of the cup, "It'll just take a few minutes! I'll call you when it's all ready."

"Thanks. How much do I owe you?"

"500¥!"

Nodding, Maki handed over the money which Kaede took with a smile.

"See ya soon, Maki-Chan."

Rolling her eyes, Maki waked over to where Shuuichi was waiting.

"Hey. How did everything go?"

"Well, Kiibo said he's fine and he's enjoying his time here. He said his coworkers are nice, especially the blonde girl you had. Oh, and I got us chocolate chip cookies, if that's okay with you."

"Yeah, that's fine. That girl was...Strange to say the least. Not a bad kind of strange, though."

"Yeah I see what you—" Shuuichi was cut off as he heard Kiibo shout his name, "Well, I'll see you at the booth." And with that he left.

Maki wasn't waiting much longer, maybe another minute or so before she heard her name being called.

"One black coffee for Maki!"

Maki walked over to where Kaede was, who like before had a grin on her face.

"Here you are! I hope you enjoy." She handed over the cup, which Maki took with a slight smile.

"Thank you. I hope the rest of your day goes well."

"Thanks! Yours too!" And with that, Kaede went to go and attend to another customer, not before giving Maki a short wave goodbye.

Maki made her way over to the booth, where Kaito and Shuuichi were already in a conversation about something Maki didn't really care about. She slipped in on the empty side of the booth, and quietly sipped her coffee. It was good, and she could tell it had been made by someone who knew what they were doing.

"Hey, Maki Roll, you want a cookie?" Kaito asked, pushing the half empty plate in her direction.

"I think I'll pass, for now. Cookies don't usually go well with this kind of drink...Not that you'd know. You're better off getting something that already has the sugar content you're taking in instead of adding it yourself..."

"...Yeah but I feel more mature this way."

"...No words, Momota-Kun. No words."

"Jeez Maki Roll...Hey, what's that?" He asked, pointing to the cup.

"It's my name, idiot."

"I can see that! But what's that." He was pointing to something below where her name should be.

Trying the cup around, Maki saw what he was talking about. Underneath her name, was a message.

'Hey. You're cute. Call me? 0423- 565XXX - K '

Maki felt her cheeks go red before she covered the message up with her hands.

"I-It's...It's nothing. Just a spill from the coffee..." It's a good job Kaito was easy to convince, and it was even better that Shuuichi hadn't been paying attention at all.

Maki looked over at Kaede, who was still serving with a smile. The blonde glanced over at Maki, and gave her a slight smirk with a wink before she turned back to her customer. Maki would definitely be texting her later.


	3. House of Memories

Maki didn't know why she was here. She probably shouldn't even be here. This wasn't right, was it? Just dropping in unannounced like this...But they needed to know.

Maki found herself outside the door of the Akamatsu residence. Kaede's family. She wanted to tell them about the game, since it wasn't public knowledge yet. As far as they were concerned, their daughter was still alive. Maki wanted to be the one to tell them. She didn't want the news to. The news wouldn't be able to tell them how brave Kaede had been, or how kind she was, or how she tried to save them. The media may even paint her as a murderer, and Maki was not going to let that happen. This was a matter that needed to be handled in person. After all, it's what Kaede would have wanted.

Taking a deep breath, Maki knocked on the door. She had rehearsed her lines the whole train ride over, and suddenly she seemed to have forgotten everything. How could you say something like this in a way that won't cause upset? You can't.

The door opened, and Maki felt as if she was going to burst out in tears. Standing there, was a girl who looked just like Kaede. She was slightly taller than Kaede, with her blonde hair pulled back into a lose ponytail and a distinct lack of hair clips. God, she even smelled like Kaede. That same lavender scent that had seemed to follow the pianist wherever she went.

"Um...May I help you?" The girl asked, breaking the silence between them. God, they even sounded the same.

Composing herself, Maki took a shaky breath before extending her hand.

"My name is Harukawa Maki. I'm Akamatsu Kaede's gi— Friend. I'm her friend."

The girl's confused expression turned into a much softer one, and a smile spread on her lips.

"Nice to meet you, Harukawa-San. I'm Aya, Kaede's older sister. Well...Older by three and a half minutes, but still older!"

Maki couldn't help but smile slightly at the girls words. They were so similar, yet clearly so different in how they went about their lives. Aya seemed a lot more mature that Kaede, but the twins seem to both share the same kind of personality from what Maki could gather from their brief talk.

"So, um, what brings you here? You know Kaede's at school, right..?"

Maki swallowed, hard. Kaede was at school alright, but she certainly wasn't actually there. She was just a body, in a bag.

"A-Actually, it's you I'm here to see. I, uh, I have something important to tell you. It's about Kaede-Chan."

"And she couldn't come here and tell me herself? Typical Kaede. You know, she hasn't texted me back in weeks! Weeks I say! Honestly, where does that girl get off." Aya moves to the side slightly, "Do come in, Harukawa-San. Would you care for some tea?"

"Yes, please." Maki sure was going to need some liquid courage, even if that liquid was just tea.

Walking into the house, Maki carefully took her shoes off and placed them by the door. Aya led her through the hallway and into the living room. The room had cream coloured walls and a light red carpet. There was also a black leather couch and chair in the middle of the room, with a coffee table in front of them facing away from the entrance. There were family pictures covering the walls, most of them being of the sisters together as children. There was a fireplace on the centre wall which had a mantle piece that held many trophy's, which Maki assumes belonged to Kaede. Above the trophies, there was a family photographer. It depicted a younger Kaede and Aya, maybe around 13, with a man and woman who were clearly their parents due to the distinct blonde hair.

"Make yourself at home. I'll be back in a few moments." Aya said before she left the room to go to the kitchen.

As soon as she left, Maki walked over to the trophies. She gently ran the tips of her fingers along them, being careful not to damage them. Her suspicions were correct. They were Kaede's. Most of them were first place, only a few of them being second or even third. They were clearly taken care of well as all of them shined brightly like they were new and there was no dust to be seen. The family clearly took pride in them. Maki felt herself tearing up slightly, but she quickly wiped the tears away and took a seat on the leather chair next to the couch.

Aya returned a few minutes later with the tea, and placed the tray down on the table. She sat down on the middle section of the couch, and poured the tea into the two cups. She picked up her own, and pushed the tray gently towards Maki.

"Help yourself."

"Thank you." Maki picked up the cup and gently blew on it before taking a sip, "Hm. It's nice. Thank you, Akamatsu-san."

"Mhm..." Aya placed her cup down, turned to Maki. "So, what's up? What has Kaede done this time?"

"W-Well..." Maki looked down at her cup, hoping that it would tell her what to say

"Is...Is she okay?" Aya asked, shifting closer towards Maki.

"I..." No. She couldn't do this. She couldn't bring herself to break this girl heart. Swallowing hard, Maki looked up at Aya with a forced smile. "She's fine. She sent me over here to tell you why she hasn't been replying. She's...She's been busy with school work lately. So busy that she hasn't really spoken to anyone. I was going to be in the area and she...She told me to stop by. To give you a proper explanation. So, here I am." Huh. Maybe all that time spent around Kokichi really had paid off.

Aya's expression quickly changed from concerned back to the smile she had when Maki first arrived. "I'm glad to see she's focusing on her studies...Though it wouldn't hurt her to let me know that she's still alive,"

Maki felt her heart drop to her stomach.

"But, if you say she's okay, I'll take your word for it."

"Mhm..." Maki didn't know what to say. She, instead, busied herself with drinking her tea, despite it still being boiling hot.

"Is...Is she making friends? Is she taking care of herself?"

"She's...She is. She's friends with everyone in our class. She kinda brought us all together, in a way." Maki thought back to the early days of the killing game, when it was Kaede keeping everyone together rather than Shuuichi.

Aya smiled, "That's good to hear then. I don't know why I was so worried about her...I guess I was just scared she'd be alone."

"She is far from alone, I assure you. She has us...And she always will do." Even if they was no longer with her, Kaede and the rest of her classmates would always have a special place in Maki's heart.

The pair fell into a comfortable silence, the only noise coming from a clock hung up on the wall behind them. Ten minutes must have passed before Aya broke the silence.

"Hey can you do me a favour? Since my sister is clearly incapable of communication, I need you to pass on a message for me. It's about our mother."

Biting her lip gently, Maki slowly nodded as she stared down into her empty cup of tea.

"Well...She's pregnant. It's supposed to be a boy. She's gonna be an older sister..."

Maki didn't know when she had started crying, and she didn't even realise if till she felt the tear drip down from her chin. Blinking quickly and wiping away the tears, she nodded her head slowly.

"Y-Yeah. I'll tell her. You can count on me, Akamatsu-San."

"Awh jeez thanks, Harukawa-San! Tell her to come visit us some time soon. We miss her..."

"I-I...I'll tell her."

Aya smiled at Maki, "Well, you should get going. I have things to be done anyway." Standing, Aya headed for the door.

Maki slowly nodded, heading for the door. "It was nice meeting you, Akamatsu-San. I hope we...I hope we meet again soon."

"Me too, Harukawa-San. I'm glad Kaede has a friend like you."

"I'm glad to have her, too..."

And with that, Maki slipped her shoes on and left the Akamatsu residence. It was unlikely she would ever return, as she assumed Aya would probably hate for keeping such a big thing from then. Maki was ashamed of herself for backing out. The one time she couldn't be a coward, she was. She'd never forget this moment for as long as she lived.


	4. The Clouds of Night

Being a werewolf had both it's perks and it's downsides for Maki. Sure, it was way easier to kill someone when she was in her full transformation but getting to her target without being spotted? Now that was hard work. It wasn't hard to spot 4.5ft tall and 7ft long wolf, so every job Maki had that fell on a full moon always ended up being a challenge. Nevertheless, she never failed to take out her target. More times than others, however, a lot more blood would be shed than needed.

The best kind of jobs she had were the ones that fell the night before the full moon, when she had just started her transformation phase. She had claws that were sharper than any knife she owned, and she also had extremely sharp teeth that came in handy should she ever be in a situation she can't use her claws. She also had improved eye sight and hearing, making finding her target much easier.

The jobs were tiring, though. After ever job, Maki would gradually make her way home and crawl into bed, exhausted. Luckily for her, Kaede was almost always awake. Being a vampire, Kaede was more prone to sleeping better during the day, which she usually did on the days Maki had jobs. She liked to be awake for when the assassin got back so that she could make sure she got home safe and sound. Maki was often too tired to even get herself ready for bed, but Kaede was always there to help her.

On this particular night, however, things were different. Maki came home, covered in blood like usual, and flopped down onto the bed. Usually, Kaede would resist the urge to lick the blood from Maki, but this time was different. She was so damn hungry. She'd been neglecting her feeding, since she knew Maki would need her energy but she couldn't help herself.

Pulling Maki close, Kaede gently licked at the cuts on Maki's face. Being a vampire, her spit could also be used as an antiseptic so it was a win win for both parties.

Maki squirmed slightly at the licks, but said nothing.

"Maki-Chan...How did it go?"

"Fine. It went fine."

"Right...Did you get hurt anywhere else?" Kaede gently cupped Maki's cheeks, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.

"Mhm..." Maki's dark brown tail gave a gentle wag at the kiss, cashing Kaede to smile.

"Alright. Do you need help or..?"

"Please..."

Kaede nodded, "Arms up."

Maki did just that, wincing slightly as she raised them. Kaede slowly pulled her black shirt up, being careful to not accidentally catch any of the wounds.

They were bad, but not as bad as they could have been. Maki's torso was covered in scratched and bruises, and she had a particularly nasty gash just above her hip. Kaede gave a soft sigh as she put the shirt to the side, getting up.

"I'm going to go and get the kit. You stay put. Do you think you could try and take off your pants for me?"

"I can try."

"That's all I ask." Kaede gave Maki another kiss on the forehead before she left the room.

Maki somehow managed to struggle her way out of her trousers. After all, she didn't want to cause more work for Kaede. Her legs weren't that bad, just a few bruises here and there. Nothing took major.

As soon as Kaede returned, she started to attend to Maki's wounds and bandaged up any cuts she deemed worthy of it. Which, to Kaede, was every single one. With Maki fixed up, the pair lied down on the bed in silence before Kaede gently put her arms around Maki's waist.

"Maki-Chan...Can I— I mean, may I feed off you in the morning? Please...I'm so hungry."

"Of course you can." Maki didn't have any jobs for the next few days, so she had no problems with helping Kaede.

"Thank you...Could I possibly get a little taste now..?" Kaede licked her lips, eyeing up Maki's neck. It seemed to be one of the least damaged part of the werewolf's body, and Kaede couldn't wait to sink her teeth into it.

"...Fine. But just a little. You'll get your fill later."

Kaede's eyes lit up and she kissed Maki's cheek, "Thank you so much! I'll be sure to return the favour."

"Just get it over with..."

Kaede kissed down Maki's cheek to her jawline, and continued kissing all the way down her neck. She picked out a good spot, and gently began to suck on it. She wanted to prepare Maki for the initial bite. After suckling for a few moment's, Kaede has a few soft bites with her regular teeth.

"Kaede-Chan...You know you can just do it, right? You don't have to prepare me."

"Yeah but I want to make you enjoy this as much as you can..."

"Kae—"

Maki was cut off by Kaede sinking her fangs into her neck and drinking quickly. It tasted so good, and Kaede couldn't get enough of it. It had been a while since she'd been able to feed off Maki, and she was going to make the most of it.

Maki was starting to feel a little bit drowsy and sick, and she gently tried to push Kaede back. Kaede, taking this as a signal to stop, pulled back. She had blood dripping down from her lip and onto her chin, but she was smiling like there was nothing there. She gave the bite mark a few licks to clean it, before licking her own lips clean.

"Ehehe...Sorry. I got a little carried away. You just taste so good!" Kaede said, kissing Maki's cheek.

Maki gave a soft groan in response, rolling onto her side.

"Right. Time to get some sleep." Kaede reached over and turned off the bedside lamp before pulling the blankets over the pair. Kaede wrapped her arms around Maki and held her close, nuzzling her face into the others back.

"H-Hey Kaede-Chan?"

"Hm?"

"I...I love you."

"I love you too."


	5. Someone take me Home

"You can't turn your back on us, Maki. We're family."

—

Family. It was a foreign concept to Maki. After all, she grew up alone. Well, not exactly. She grew up with many other children like her, but none of them ever wanted to go near her. They were too afraid. She was an outcast. Even the people who ran the orphanage were afraid of her. That's how Maki's life had always been, and she didn't know it any other way.

Maki didn't know who her parents were. When they abandoned her, they left nothing. Nothing to identify her by but a name. They tried to find her parents, but there was no luck. Maki put that down to her last name more than likely being different to theirs. Maki Harukawa sounds too similar to the food to be true.

Maki ran away from the orphanage at the young age of 14. She had nothing there, and nobody to miss her when she was gone. She disappeared in the dead of night, and they never managed to track her down. Maki spent the next few years of her life in and out of cities across Japan. She was never in one place for long. She would do odd jobs for people to earn money. No matter the job, Maki would do it. That's how she got into her current line of work. It started off so simple, like "Hey kid you're small can you pick that guys pocket for me?" But it soon escalated to "Hey kid you're small, think you can sneak up on that guy over there and take him out?" And every time, Maki obliged.

—

When Maki first showed up at the Academy, she didn't expect to talk to anyone. She wanted nothing to do with her classmates. They were all too happy for her liking. They were too normal. So when the perky blonde in their class tried to talk to her, Maki didn't think it would turn into anything more than that. Trying. Every time she tried, Maki would shoot her down or just straight up ignore her, but that damn blonde carried on. Maki quickly came to learn a lot about her. Her name was Kaede, and she was a pianist. She had a twin sister, and her parents worked in marketing. In return, the only think Kaede learnt about Maki was her name, yet that was somehow good enough for her.

—

On one particular day, however, Kaede turned up outside Maki's door.

"...Can I help you, Akamatsu-San?"

"I've told you like a hundred times! Call me Kaede, jeez..."

Maki sighed, "Fine. Can I help you, Kaede-San?"

"You're no fun, Maki-Chan...Anyway! Momota-Kun and Saihara-Kun wanted to know why you haven't been to training lately. They're worried about you, so I offered to come visit!"

"Why do you care? Why do they care? It's not like we're friends or anything like that."

"Well, I consider us friends so therefore I do care about you!"

"I..." Maki really wasn't feeling up to this social interaction today. "Just tell them I'm not feeling well and that I'll be there Friday. I have other matters to attend to."

"...Fine. I'll tell them that. Just...Take care of yourself, okay? You have my number, right? If you ever need anyone, give me a call."

Sure, Maki had Kaede's number. It was one of the only number she had, beside that idiot Momota's. She never messaged or called either of them, even if the other party made the first move. Still, it was a nice gesture.

"Mhm... Thank you, Kaede-San."

"Don't mention it. After all, what are friends for? Well, I'll see you around!" And with that, Kaede dashed off out of the dormitories. What an odd girl.

—

Months went by in a flash, and it was soon the Christmas break. Many students were getting ready to go home for the holidays, but not Maki. After all, where would she even go? Over the past months, Maki had opened up a little and had started talking to her classmates a little more. She was now on average talking to at least three people a day, with one of them always being Kaede. Kaede had  
eventually managed to get past Maki's self-built walls and actually got the assassin to open up to her, and the two had shared many nights just talking about how they felt. Kaede had become Maki's best friend, and the closest thing she'd ever had to feeling safe with someone. Kaede knew of her past, and everytime Maki had spoken about Kaede would always listen and be there for her if she needed it. The blonde always knew the right thing to say when Maki needed to hear it most. The only thing Maki kept a secret was her true talent. She was afraid she'd scare Kaede off, and she wasn't going to lose the best person in her life.

It was Christmas Eve, and Maki was spending her night alone in her dorm browsing through the internet on her student laptop. She was pulled out of her thoughts by a knock at the door. Raising an eyebrow, Maki reached over to her bedside table and took a knife from the drawer. There weren't many students on campus, so Maki had the right idea to be cautious. Holding the knife behind her back, Maki made her way over to the door and slowly opened it.

There stood Kaede, all dressed up in a winter coat and hat. The top of the hat was covered in snow, indicating that she had been outside moments before. In surprise, Maki had dropped the knife from her hand, causing it to land on the floor with a clatter.

"H-Hey..." Kaede muttered, looking down at the floor. "C-Can I come in?"

Maki nodded, still slightly surprised, and pulled Kaede into the room. God, she was freezing.

"What the Hell are you doing here? It's the middle of the night! And it's snowing! Do you have a death wish?!" Maki pulled Kaede's hat off, causing the blonde to give a strained chuckle.

"A-Awh M-Maki cares about me! H-How cute!"

"Shut up. I just don't want a dead body on my hands right now." Maki unzipped Kaede's jacket, pulling it off and hanging it up by the door. "Just...Stay here, okay? I'm going to go to the kitchen and get you a hot drink. Any preference?"

"H-How about some hot coco?" Maki wasn't even surprised. Kaede always was a little childish at times.

"Alright. I'll be back soon." Maki pulled on her own jacket and turned for the door. "Make yourself at home. We'll talk when I get back."

As soon as Maki left, Kaede set her plan into action. She wiggled out her own clothes, putting them to the side and then shoved on one of Maki's largest shirts. She then got into the brunettes bed and wrapped the blankets around herself so that she somewhat resembled a sushi roll. Maki did say to make herself at home

It wasn't long before Maki returned. Once she let herself into her room, she placed the cup down on to table by the door and took off her jacket. It was still snowing heavily outside, and God knows how long Kaede was out in that weather for. Speaking of Kaede, where has she gone to? Maki couldn't see any trace of her besides her clothes until her eyes landed on her bed. There was Kaede, wrapped up on the blankets and fast asleep. It was late, after all so Maki was far from surprised.

Maki shook her head and walked over to the bed, the hot beverage long forgotten. She sat down on the edge and looked over at Kaede. She looked so peaceful and warm, and Maki didn't have the heart to wake her. Instead, she managed to pull some of the blankets out from under the pianist and slipped under them. She got as far away from Kaede as she could, but it was ultimately pointless as as soon as she got into the bed the blonde clung onto her like her life depended on it. Great. Now she was stuck. Maki decided to just try and go with it and get some sleep, but that was easier said than done. Kaede was a restless sleeper and would constantly be moving around and grabbing Maki. She even went as far as to accidentally hit Maki in the face. But, eventually, the brunette managed to doze off before Kaede could go through with her next attack.

Maki never did find out why Kaede turned up on her door step. Every time she brought it up, the blonde would simply dodge the question or make up some excuse. Maki didn't press on the issue. She had her secrets, and Kaede sure had hers. Maki was kinda thankful Kaede showed up, in all honesty. She wasn't looking forward to spending another Christmas alone, and Kaede had made it her best one yet.

—

So how had they ended up here? Maki was packing her bags to leave the Academy. She had no business here anymore. As the months went by, everything started to crumble. People became scared of her again after discovering her true talent, and she was back to square one again. Being alone. Well, she still had Kaede, but even the blonde had been acting off with her. Everyone was acting off with her, and Maki took that as her cue to leave.

As she continued to pack the few items she owned, there was a knock on the door. Maki chose to ignore it, deeming whoever was on the other side nothing but a bother.

The knocking didn't let up. It kept going, getting more desperate each time Maki ignored it.

"Maki-Chan? Please, open up..." Came a voice from the other side. It was Kaede, no doubt about it. Maki wanted to opened the door, but something stopped her. She was afraid that Kaede was here to tell her she was happy she was leaving, or to tell her how much she hated her for making Kaede's own friends be wary around her.

Maki tried to block out the knocking and Kaede's words - Which soon turned into Kaede banging on the door and yelling.

"Please Maki! I know you're in there! Please, let me in! I don't want you to go!"

'It was probably all lies,' Maki thought to herself, 'Just more lies from people who don't care.'

"We're sorry...We're sorry for treating you differently...We were just...Scared. You lied to us for so long...We were scared you were going to hurt us. But we were wrong! And we're sorry. Please, don't leave...We want to make it up to you!"

Maki walked over to the door and pulled it open, her eyes staring daggers into Kaede. Kaede's cheeks were bright red and Maki noticed that tears coated her cheeks.

"Go away, Kaede. I don't want to talk to you, or anyone else right now. I need to finish up here."

"Please don't go! Please... You can't turn your back on us, Maki. We're family."

Maki scoffed. What was Kaede thinking? They were not family. She didn't need a family, she didn't need anyone. All she needed was herself.

"Go away." Maki went to close the door, but was stopped when Kaede put her foot in the way.

"You're not listening to me. We all love and care about you, no matter what your talent is. Our whole class is one big family, and that includes you. You can't just leave us like this, it isn't fair."

"So now you want to talk about what's fair? What isn't fair is...It's this whole situation! You guys treated me bad, and now you expect me to stay? I can't do that."

Kaede fell silent, and moved her foot from the door. Maki was expecting her to leave, so she pushed the door shut and walked back over to her bed. What she didn't expect was for that same door to fly open and for Kaede to run in and tackle Maki to the floor. Maki, not expecting the attack, fell straight down to the floor. She was about to cause some serious damage before she realised it was Kaede, and when she did she just stared angrily at the blonde.

"What the fuck are you doing?! I could have seriously hurt you!"

"It would have been worth it! I am not letting you leave. Not now, not ever! You're part of this family whether you like it or not, and we have a strict no man left behind policy!"

"...Why do you care so much? It's not a big deal. You guys won't even notice I'm gone."

"I will. I'll miss you every day! And every night! You're my best friend, Maki-Chan. You can't leave me here alone."

"...You have other friends. You have Saihara-San and Momota-San and Amami-San and—"

"But they aren't you! I don't want them. I want you. Please stay..."

Maki sighed heavily. She wasn't going to give up, was she? Maki pushed Kaede back a little, making it so she could sit up slightly.

"...If you get off of me, and let me think about it, I'll get back to you tomorrow."

Kaede thought about it for a moment, "One condition. You don't leave without telling me. I had to find out from our teacher that you were leaving this time! Not cool, Maki-Chan."

"...Fine. I'll be sure to find you before I leave, if that's what I decide."

Satisfied, Kaede got off of Maki and offered her out a hand. Maki took the hand and pulled herself up, dusting her skirt down.

Kaede walked over to the door, but before she left she looked back at Maki. "If...If you do decide to leave, you know you'll always have a home with me, right? Like I said, we're family. Even once we all leave this place, you're still gonna be family to me, Maki-Chan."

"...Thank you, Kaede-Chan. I appreciate that a lot."

Smiling, Kaede left Maki to her own thoughts. It was going to be a long night for both of them.


	6. Of Notes and Knives

Today was the day of Hope's Peak's annual talent swap. Each year, every class would pair up and the two would swap talents for a day. It was designed to help students broaden their horizons and to give them an insight into how other people's talents worked.

Kaede woke up that morning beyond excited. She knew exactly who she wanted to partner up with, and was determined to get to them first. Not that that would be a problem. Maki was...Cold, to say the least towards most of the class apart from a select few, and Kaede was pretty sure Kaito and Shuuichi were going to pair with each other. She could never see either of them wanting to try out being an assassin for the day. Kaede, on the other hand, was ecstatic to try it out! She also couldn't wait to teach Maki some of her favourite pieces on the piano, though she'd had to narrow her options down to a few of the easier songs she enjoyed. Today was going to be so much fun!

Kaede arrived a little later than she usually would, but she still arrived before the majority of students. The only people currently in the class room were Kirumi, Gonta and their teacher.

"Good morning, Akamatsu-San. You're looking as cheerful as ever." Kirumi greeted with a smile, to which Kaede returned as she took a seat at her desk.

"Good morning to you too, Toujou-San! I'm in a pretty good mood today. I'm excited about the talent swap."

"As am I. Who do you plan on asking?"

"Well, I'm going to ask Maki-Chan! Her talent is so cool! What about you?"

"I see...Well, I hope it works out in your favour. I plan on asking Shirogane-San. Her talent is...Interesting and I wouldn't minding spending a whole day with her." Kaede noticed that Kirumi's cheeks had gone a light shade of pink before the maid turned away and continued to dust the shelves. Kaede turned her attention to Gonta.

"What about you, Gonta-Kun?"

"Well...Gonta not sure! Gonta want to pick good partner who will treat bugs good! Gonta no want to harm them!" Kaede couldn't help but smile at how sweet Gonta was.

"Well...Maybe try someone like Shinguuji-San? Or Amami-San? I'm sure they'll take good care of the bugs!"

"Oh! You are right! Gonta knows they both nice people!"

"I'm glad I could help!"

The room fell into a comfortable silence as more students started to pile in. First came in Tenko, who was seemingly dragging Himiko behind her. Then Rantaro entered followed by Angie who was trying to talk to him about Atua as Tsumugi walked alongside her. Then in ran Kiibo who was being chased by Kokichi, no surprise there. Minutes later Miu entered, seemingly yelling about something Kokichi had done (which, he of course lied about). Shuuichi and Kaito were next, with Korekiyo following close behind. Ryoma was next and last but not least, in walked Maki. Once everyone was seated, the teacher began to tell everyone how the day would go. They would pair up, and spend half the day in one ultimate lab and then the other half in the others.

The pairing up process didn't take long, much to Kaede's surprise. Shuuichi went with Kaito, Himiko with Tenko, Korekiyo with Ryoma, Gonta with Rantaro, Angie with Miu, Kiibo with Kokichi (Much to the robots annoyance), Kirumi with Tsumugi, and finally Kaede with Maki. At first, Maki had protested but it got to a point where it was either Kaede or she got stuck with Kokichi for a whole day. That quickly changed her mind.

"So... Where do you want to start?" Kaede ask as they left the classroom with everyone else.

"I don't mind. It doesn't matter, anyway. You'll never learn my skills in a day."

"And you won't learn mine either. But we have to start somewhere. Besides, it isn't about mastering the skill, it's about learning about your friends! I'm just excited to have fun and spend the day with you, Maki-Chan!"

"...Fine. I guess we can go to your lab first, since I can see you're dying to show me whatever it is you have planned."

"Awesome! It's not a far walk, trust me." Kaede grabbed Maki's hand and started to drag her towards her lab, her excitement getting the better of her.

Maki rolled her eyes and just let Kaede pull her, not really seeing the point of fighting back. She could tell how excited the blonde was, and part of her didn't want to ruin that for her.

The pair eventually found themselves at Kaede's lab, and soon enough Maki was sat down at the piano bench with Kaede sat next to her.

"Okay so let's start with the basics." Kaede pointed to a key, "Press this one. It'll play the D note."

Hesitantly, Maki pressed it gently.

"Good! Now press it two more times, then hit this once." Kaede motioned to the E key.

Maki tapped the key twice more before hitting the E.

"This one is a little tricky. You see this black key here?" Kaede hovered above the F# key, "You're gonna want to press that one."

"...I thought these were just for decoration."

"...Seriously? Wow." Kaede gave a slight smirk, and patted Maki on the shoulder. "Looks like one good thing came out of this experience."

"Yeah, Yeah..." Maki muttered to herself as she pressed down on the key.

"Now press that again then press this," She pointed to an E, "That previous note again and then you wanna press this G and then A." She pointed to both keys respectively.

"Okay...I think I've got this." Maki slowly played out the tune, and with every note she played Kaede's smile grew.

"You're so good at this, Maki-Chan! There's only two more lines to go, and they're pretty easy!"

"This isn't so hard...Anybody could do this!" Maki was honestly pretty proud of herself.

"...Once we're done here, I'm gonna show you a thing or two. Anyway, now press this D key three times, then this A key three times and then then black key again followed by the D."

"That's a lot to take in but...I'm sure I can do this!" Maki started off strong, but she accidentally pressed the F# too many times.

"Don't worry. Everyone makes mistakes. Just try again. I know you can do this! I believe in you."

"Thank you..." Maki tried again, and played it perfectly this time.

"Well done! Okay, last line. Press the A, then this G, then the black key and then finally E then D."

"Right..." Just as Maki was about to begin, Kaede got up from the chair and went over to the shelves. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, don't mind me. I'm just getting the sheet music for the song you're playing. You carry on."

Shaking her head, Maki played the notes, not making any mistakes.

Kaede walked back over holding a sheet of music and put it on the stand on the piano.

"Now, we're gonna try it from the top. Since all the keys are labelled, it won't be too hard. You got this, Maki-Chan."

Maki slowly nodded, and looked at the sheet. The notes looked pretty complicated, but when she read it by the letters it didn't look so bad. Slowly, she started to play. As she did, she slowly realised what song she was playing; It was Row Row Row Your Boat. Dammit, Kaede. When she hit the last note, Kaede started to clap next to her.

"Well done! I'm so proud! You're a natural!" Kaede praised, smiling at Maki.

Maki felt her cheeks heat up slightly at the compliments and looked away, "It's not like it's hard...Even an idiot could do it."

"I'm still proud of you. Now...Let me show you something a little bit more...Challenging." Kaede scooted closed fo Maki and placed her hands on the keys. She slowly began to play the start of a song Maki had never heard before, but it soon picked up speed and Kaede's hands were moving incredibly fast, so fast that Maki found herself fixated on watching them. The assassin was blown away by how good Kaede was, as this was the first time she had seen her play up close. It wasn't until Maki looked up at Kaede that she saw that the girls eyes were shut tight and that she wasn't even looking, making Maki even more impressed by her talent. She wasn't the Ultimate Pianist for nothing.

As the song came to a close, Kaede opened her eyes and turned to Maki. "So...What did you think?"

"It was...That was incredible. How did you learn to do that?" Maki asked, her voice laced with genuine curiosity.

Kaede gave an awkward smile, rubbing the back of her neck. "Practice, I guess. I taught myself and just practiced all day every day until I could do it with my eyes shut. I'm sure there's something you can do with your eyes closed, right?" Oh Maki could think of a few things...

The pair kept playing for the rest of the morning, switching between Maki practicing a song and Kaede playing one for her. Before they knew it, the bell sounded to signify lunch.

"Woah! That was quick! Awh I didn't even get to play 'Sonatine' for you..."

Maki gave her a soft smile as she got up, "Maybe next time. Could you meet me at my lab after lunch? I have business to attend to right now."

"Oh? Yeah, of course! I'll see you then!" Kaede was practically bouncing in her seat. She was excited to learn about Maki's talent, and she was sure learning a few skills would come in handy one day

Nodding, Maki turned to leave. Before she did, however, she looked over her shoulder at Kaede. "Uh...Thanks for, you know, teaching me and stuff..." Kaede couldn't see very well, but she was sure Maki's cheeks were slightly red.

"You're more than welcome! Feel free to stop by any time if you'd like to learn more."

"I'll...Keep that in mind." And with that, Maki was gone.


	7. Feelings on Fire

Kaede and Maki had been dating for a few weeks now, yet they still hadn't had their first kiss. Sure, they'd had the occasional peck on the cheek but that was as far as they got. Kaede really, really wanted to kiss Maki, so she made it her personal mission to kiss her by the end of the day.

After class, Kaede approaches Maki and pulled her into a light hug. Maki gave a small smile and returned the hug, pulling back slightly to give Kaede a kiss on her forehead.

"Well, Hey there."

Kaede looked up at Maki, smiling. "Hi yourself." Kaede pulled back from the hug and took Maki's hand.

"So...You said you had something you wanted to show me?"

"Mhm!" Kaede gave Maki a wide smile, "But not here! To the dormitories!" And with that, Kaede dragged Maki off to her dorm with Maki smiling like a lovestruck fool the entire time. Only Kaede could make her smile like that.

When they reached Kaede's dorm room, Kaede pulled her down onto the bed.

"I miss you today..." The blonde muttered and she cuddled up to Maki, burying her face into Maki's neck.

"I was with you all day."

"But I miss you! This you! I miss you being all cuddly and soft and adorable...Not that you aren't adorable normally!"

Maki gave a soft chuckle as she rolled her eyes and pulled Kaede close. Kaede was the only person whoever got to see this side of Maki, and it made her very happy whenever she did.

The pair sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, enjoying being in the others embrace. Kaede was the first to pull away, as she sat up and looked at Maki with a cheeky smile.

"Oh no...This can't be good. You've got that look on your face."

Kaede cocked her head to the side, "What look?"

"That look that says 'I've got a plan that'll either end in tears or happiness." Maki's voice was completely monotone as she raised an eyebrow up at Kaede.

"...Damn you know me so well. Just...Close your eyes, okay? It'll be worth it! And...Please don't freak out! I'm the only one here, okay? Nobody is going to hurt you."

"...Fine." Maki closed her eyes, her cheeks puffing out a little.

Since Maki was still lying down, Kaede took this as an opportunity to straddle Maki's waist, causing a soft 'Oof' from the brunette.

Kaede leaned over and gently cupped Maki's cheeks, which instantly heated up at her touch. Leaning down, Kaede softly pressed her lips to Maki's. On impact, she felt Maki tense up under her and her cheeks also got a lot hotter than they had done before, but Maki soon relaxed into the kiss and brought her arms up to hold Kaede's waist and held her close.

The kiss only last a few moments before Kaede pulled back, looking down at Maki with a light blush on her cheeks. Maki, however, was a blushing mess and when she opened her eyes looked everywhere but at Kaede.

"That was...That was good. Really good...Right?"

Reluctantly, Maki looked at Kaede.

"I-It was...Acceptable."

"...You liked it. Admit it." Kaede pokes Maki's cheek, a small smirk on her face.

"...Fine. I liked it. It was good."

"Awh I knew you liked it! We've gotta do it again sometime!"

"...How about now?" Now it was Kaede's turn to blush.

"I-If you insist! But just for a little while..."

Spoiler alert: It was not just for a little while.


End file.
